1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a row crop header for a forage harvester, and, more particularly, is directed to an improved multi-row crop header which promotes butt-end feeding of crop stalks to the harvester.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A typical forage harvester operating in row planted stalk-crops such as corn or the like, includes a mobile base unit and a row crop header for gathering the crop from the field. The base unit includes a forward, generally rectangular, inlet opening, a feed roll assembly spanning the width of the inlet opening and a cutter mechanism for cutting or chopping the stalks into small pieces. The row crop header has a rear central discharge outlet for communication with the inlet opening when the header is mounted on the front of the base unit. As is well known, the crop is gathered by the header and delivered rearwardly through the central discharge outlet and inlet opening into the feed roll assembly that feeds the crop to the cutterhead.
Over the years, the size of the forage harvesters have become larger; however, the width of the cutterhead and thus the width of the feed roll assembly and the inlet opening has remained relatively the same. The reason for this is well recognized by those skilled in the art in that, for maximum efficiency, there exists a direct relationship between the width of the cutterhead, the horsepower of the machine and the thickness of the mat of material to be cut (uniform length of cut). Furthermore, it is well recognized that the best results are achieved when the crop, such as corn, are fed to the feed roll assembly, and thus the cutterhead, butt-end first, generally perpendicular to the cutterhead.
The butt-end, generally perpendicular feeding of the crop to the cutterhead has generally not been a problem in the one row and two row headers; however, the same cannot be said for the three and four and greater number of row headers. In the larger row unit headers, a consolidating auger is generally required to laterally convey the crop to the narrow central discharge outlet. Generally, the stalks are moved toward the central discharge outlet with their axis generally parallel to the transverse auger which results in crosswise feeding of the stalks into the feed rolls and cutterheader. Such crosswise feeding of the stalks to the cutterhead results in a nonuniform length of cut which is objectionable. Further, such lateral movement of the stalks tends to cause jamming of material at the discharge outlet thereby resulting in an uneven feeding of the stalks to the cutterhead.